Tag Archives: style

The one thing every great singer does…

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First off, I suppose I’d better start off by defining what I mean by “great singer”. When I mention the “greats” I’m talking about those vocalists who have achieved critical acclaim for their singing. I’m talking about singers who are universally considered some of the best there is, by people across all genres, styles and backgrounds.

There are, for example, some artists in Gospel that have achieved great things and have a huge fan base. Gospel fans may think they’re the best out there but very few people who don’t listen to Gospel know who they are.

So, who are some people who have achieved this kind of universal acclaim as great singers? I’m talking about people like Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston (pre Bobby Whitney, ok?, lol) Luther Vandross. Remember Mel Tormey (sp?) Considered such a smooth vocalist his knick name was “The Velvet Fog”.

I could go on, but you get the picture. These are people who are known the world over as simply some of the best vocalists out there…by everybody, not just fans of their respective genres.

There’s one thing that every one of these singers do, that you can do too; immediately and without a single lesson.

Ready? The answer is one word…..

SIMPLIFY

I happen to know that most of my subscribers to this blog sing either R&B or Gospel. In both of these styles of music people tend to equate great singing with the ability to do lots and lots of vocal runs, riffs, trills and such. This has to be one of the most coveted vocal abilities of them all. It’s so important to many singers that they do it almost the whole time they’re singing.

But often I think we get so caught up with the fancy stuff we mistake the fancy stuff for actual singing. Riffs, runs, trills, and other “vocal acrobatics” (as Arron Nevel called it once) are style elements; they are nice touches that should be sprinkled into your singing here and there for style.

But many singers mistake riffing for singing. Because this is such a highly regarded ability in Gospel and R&B, many singers mistakenly put way too much emphasis on it in their singing.

But look at the singers I mentioned above again. I’m sure you can add a few names to the list I’m not thinking of right now. But the point I’m making here is this: all of these singers are known the world over for their ablity to create some of the most beautiful music with their voices. Why? Because they place the emphasis on pure, honest, true tone production.

I heard Whitney’s performance of the Star Spangled Banner again the other day and it gave me chills. Still considered to be one of the best renditions of it ever. No trills, runs, or riffs. She just sang the notes; pure, clean and with deadly accuracy of pitch.

There is no instrument more complex than the human voice. It is about the only instrument that can’t be accurately duplicated by any keyboard. As such, no sound is more beautiful or unique than the sound of a human voice producing pure, clean musical tones with spot-on pitch.

So, as simple as it sounds, if you want to instantly improve your sound, do what the greats do..simplify. Just sing honest, true musical tone as clean and as pure as you can. If you want to work on anything, spend as much of your time as possible working on pitch. Always be on pitch, even if you have to sacrifice style elements you want to do.

Want make that Worship song transport the audience into the very presence of God? Strip your performance of it down to nothing but the pure musical notes it calls for, and sing them as clean and simply as possible. You will move your audience to tears.

Want to make that love song have people gazing into your eyes? Same thing. Luther Vandross hardly ever did a run or riff, and was overweight most of his career. Yet he was considered one of the most amazing ballad singers of our time.

Let’s look at an interesting contrast, just to prove a point. I’m a big fan of Stevie Wonder. Now, let’s face it. Stevie Wonder does a lot of riffing, and he does it like he invented it. The man is incredible. He uses his voice like a weapon, lol. Stevie can sing, no doube about it. AND….Stevie has indeed received critical acclaim the world over.

But NOT for his singing. When you think of Stevie Wonder what do you think? “That man’s a musical genius! He’s an incredible writer”. So does everybody else. That is his claim to fame.

Now, when you think of Luther, what do you think? “That man can saaang!”So did everybody else.

Get it?

So the word for today is…..Simplify.

 

4 reasons people say no to leading a song and how to change them to yes

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As directors, MOMs and worship leaders we often struggle to find enough lead vocalists. Which of course forces us to rely heavily on the 2 or 3 we do have who can step up and lead. Of course you know what comes next. Accusations of favoritism.

But members in the stand seldom understand the fact that you’d rather do anything than have to use the same people over and over. Not only does it wear them out, but it places limitations on the whole group. Still though, you understand better than most that you can’t just put anyone up to lead. They have to be able to deliver that song.

That’s where we run into problems, don’t we? We start asking people to lead songs and we start getting turned down. So to help us all fix this problem I thought I’d list 4 of the most common reasons people say no when you ask them about leading a song. Then I’ll give you soloutions you can pass along to that gun-shy first-timer (the one who’s been complaining about the same people leading but just told you no when you asked them, lol) and hopefully turn that no into a yes.

Many times when you ask someone new to leading songs to step up, it’s not that they don’t want to. They may like the song, but decline anyway. Why? Usually because they don’t understand that they don’t have to be able to do every single part of the song perfectly. Most first-time leaders pass on leading their first song not because of the whole song, but because they might have trouble with one aspect of part of the song. This is where we can offer guidance and help turn that no into a yes.  Here are 4 of the most common reasons singers say no to leading their first song, along with some solutions:

 

1. The song, or parts of it, is just too high

If the entire song is too high but you really like this person for it, then the simple solution is to drop the key! You do have to be careful when lowering the key of a song because sometimes doing so can really rob a song of it’s energy. But most of the time that only happens when you’re making a dramatic change that drops the key several steps down. In general though, you can safely lower most songs a half-step, and sometimes a whole step. A half step drop can make a big difference in the singer’s comfort level.

2. I have to do a lot of ad-libing, I’m not good at that.

Contrary to popular belief, ad-libbing is not something you have to be born with to be good at. It’s a skill most anyone can learn. If ad-libbing is the only thing holding your prospect back, have them purchase a copy of my coaching video Ad-lib Like A Pro. Or better yet, purchase it for them and bless them with it!

3. I can’t do all that stuff the original artist is doing. I don’t know where to go or what to do.

Good, because you shouldn’t. It is certainly important to maintain the integrity of the song. That is, to respect the original by staying close to the melody line and not changing the lyrics (except where there is ad-libbing). But there are always several different ways to approach a certain melody line, riff or high note that is intimidating your prospect. If, for example, the whole song is good for them except this one part where the artist hits this really high note, simply help them find another way to do that part without hitting the note.
Tell your singer “Runs are great but you don’t have to do them if you’re not comfortable with them. Don’t pass on a song because the original artist is doing a lot of runs. Do YOU! Look for alternative ways to approach parts of the song so they fit your skill level better.”

4. I don’t feel it. It’s not my situation or testimony.

You must remember that music ministry is NOT about the singer, but the receiver. Not every song will be your personal situation. Does that mean you’re singing a lie? Absolutely not. Even when it’s not your story or your situation, it’s someone’s situation. That person might be in the audience. So if you like the song but you’re not especially feeling spiritually connected to it, you must first keep in mind that the message is for someone, even if it’s not speaking to you. You can always sing the song from that perspective, as a witness to or testimoniy/encouragement for someone else.

To be authentic though, you do need to find some personal connection to something in the song so you can sing it with conviction and honest emotion. Even if it’s just a couple of lines in the chorus, that’s plenty. It’s perfectly alright though, if you don’t feel like the entire song is about you. None of it is about you (smile). In the end though, it’s all about conviction. So if , even after you’ve shared this with them, a singer feels convicted about singing a certain song because of the subject matter, they shouldn’t.

 

Consider a Style Coaching session

Whenever you find yourself having some of the above issues with a new leader with a song you’ve been asking them to sing, one thing to consider is having them take a Style Coaching lesson. Style coaching is a bit different than normal vocal lessons. In vocal coaching sessions the primary focus is learning proper technique. Vocal lessons usually need to be taken on a recurring basis over a period of time to see results.

Style Coaching works much faster. You can book style coaching lessons ala-carte whenever you need one and still reap all of the benefits you need from just one session. In a Style Coaching session you’re there to work specifically on a song or songs. A style coach can help you work through and find solutions for issues like those mentioned above. It’s especially helpful for those songs when 90% of it is ok for the singer but just that last part is too high. Or when you’re stuck for how to sing certain parts differently than the original because the original artist is doing some crazy run or something. Your vocal coach can help you work through those parts and find alternative way to sing them. I offer style coaching ala carte, by the hour on Skype. You can book a session here.

So hold on before you accept that no to leading that song! Use these for tips with your timid new lead vocalist and turn that no into a yes.